Biscuit makes a splash

This week has been a really sad time for us. We lost somebody very special. I want to share some memories and stories, but I just can't do it yet.

So in the meantime, let's all laugh at my Biscuit baby!

Jeff, Biscuit and I went to a surprise party for a friend of ours. He lives a couple of towns away from us and has a beautiful piece of land that backs up to a lake. When we drove up, the street was lined with cars, and we were laughing, wondering what in the world he would think when he drove up.

There was a ton of food and drinks there, a beautiful chocolate cake decorated with half-dipped chocolate strawberries, hot dogs, BBQ, all the fixin's and a bunch of side dishes.

They also had live music. A couple who perform as a duet played and sang really good laid-back music that just gave the whole evening such a great vibe.

We had asked ahead to make sure the party was kid-friendly, and we were assured that Biscuit would be welcome.

One couple had their son and daughter with them. The girl was 12, and the boy was 10. The dad said to the boy, "Why don't you play with Griffin? And make sure to keep an eye on him."

They played for a good while, then Biscuit came walking back up looking frustrated.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"That boy keeps telling me what to do," Biscuit complained. "Like 'don't go over there' or 'watch your step.'"

"He's doing that because his dad knows that you're younger, and he asked his son to take care of you and make sure you stayed safe," I told him. "He's not trying to be bossy. He's just doing what his dad asked him to do."

"Ooohhh!" Biscuit said. "Okay." And away he went.

The birthday boy arrived, and everyone ran over to greet him. It was quite funny because someone asked him what he thought when he saw all those cars near his house.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "I have elderly neighbors, and when I saw all those cars lining the street, I got sad thinking one of them had died."

He seemed truly moved by the whole evening. And it was a good event. The weather was perfect.

And then ...

The 10-year-old boy came running up to me and said frantically, "He fell in! He fell in!"

I looked down the hill to see Biscuit sopping wet from his neck down with his arms held out beside him. Sure enough, he had fallen into the lake.

I wasn't convinced it was an accident until I saw the mud on his butt. He took one step back too far and just sat right down in the water ... up to his neck!

He locked eyes with me. I think he was waiting to see if I was going to be mad at him or not. But how could I be? He looked like a drowned rat! I cracked up laughing.

So here we go, sloshing up to the porch so I can ask the hostess, whom I've only met that night, if we can borrow a towel.

She was really worried about whether Biscuit was okay, but I told her that he was fine, just wet and a little embarrassed. She ran in and brought out this bath towel that was more like a bath sheet. It was huge!

We backed Biscuit into a corner and had him strip off his clothes. There was no hope for his shoes, so we just set them on the sidewalk so we could grab them on our way out. 

As for Biscuit's other clothes, Jeff wrung them out as best he could, and the hostess threw them in the dryer. I tucked the towel under one of Biscuit's arms and told him to spin around. As he did, I wrapped that towel around him.

"Spin ... spin ... spin ... spin ..." I told him. I swear, he must've spun around 10 times to get that thing completely wrapped around him.

So the party continued, and Biscuit was walking around in a towel that went from his armpits down to his ankles. After a while, the 12-year-old girl ran out to the car and grabbed a sports shirt she had. It was too big for Biscuit, but seeing as his arms and shoulders were getting chilly, he didn't seem to mind.

So Biscuit walked around for the rest of the party in a towel and a girl's shirt. Everyone seemed to get a good laugh about the situation. And thankfully, Biscuit took it all in stride.

Now here's the disappointing part. It's really shocking ...

I didn't take a picture of the child in his towel and girl's shirt. Can you believe that?! I take pictures of EVERYTHING, yet I failed to take a photo of one of the funniest moments of the year!

I did take a picture of the beautiful view from the birthday boy's backyard, though.

My boy enjoying a peaceful moment before he went for his impromptu swim.

The view from the backyard. I told him that with a
view like this, I didn't know how he ever left for work!

The hostess fetched Biscuit's clothes from the dryer, and he made sure to thank her, then he gave her a big hug. 

Since Biscuit's shoes were still soaked, he was leaving the party in his socks. As we were walking up the driveway, we stopped to say goodbye to the birthday boy, and he said to Biscuit, "Next time you come over, you'll have to bring your fishing pole."

Biscuit smiled at him and said, "The next time I come over, I'm gonna bring my goggles!"

Random photos

Here are a few recent (and random) photos of Biscuit:

I don't know anything about this candidate, but
when I saw the sign in town, I had to take a picture.

Remember when Biscuit found a good spot for TV watching?

Well, he still sits there. Wonder how long it'll
be until his feet are resting in Jeff's lap?

Pre-game silliness.

A selfie in my lap.

Has there ever been a boy who hasn't
made himself a mohawk in the shower?!

"Dude, between your new sunglasses and
that shirt, you look cool," I told Biscuit.

Biscuit replied, "Mom, I'm not just cool, I'm THIS cool!" And I
turned around to see him in this pose. Too bad he's so insecure!

Art lesson

Biscuit doesn't care much for art projects ... much to my chagrin. I've always loved coloring and creating, but my boy just doesn't. Don't get me wrong. He's got imagination to spare, but he uses it with his action figures and other toys, not on paint, markers and crayons.

Biscuit does love history, though, and recently, in art class at school, he learned that art and history can go together. His art teacher told them all about some Impressionist artist, including Claude Monet.

They mainly talked about his paintings of water lilies. 

Monet painted about 250 oil paintings of water lilies in the last 30 years of his life. They were in his flower garden in his backyard, complete with a Japanese bridge. If you look at an Impressionist painting close up, you'll see splotches, smears and brush strokes in the paint but not the picture. You have to move back for the picture to become clear.

Here's one of the paintings with the Japanese bridge:

I wish I had shot this video the day he came home and told me about it, but actually remembered a lot a few days later. Here's Biscuit talking about Claude Monet.



After teaching them about the artist, the teacher had them make water lilies out of clay. She fired them, then they painted them.

Biscuit brought his home and was very proud.

"So where should we put this, Mom?" Biscuit asked me. "Because I know that you're gonna want to look at it every day."

I wanted to grin, but he was completely serious.

"You know, you're right," I said, and I found a place on my cookbook shelves in the kitchen.

Here's Biscuit's creation: